​Family members told an Orange County Superior Court judge last week that their lives have not been the same since March of 2009 when Alfredo Granados Canchola coaxed a 13-year-old girl into his car and fondled her. Victim impact statements of the girl, her mother and father were read before Judge John Conley sentenced Alfredo Granados Canchola, 29, of Artesia, to 55 years to life in state prison for kidnapping and/or sexually assaulting three different girls between the ages of 10 and 16 over a five-month span in Anaheim and Irvine.A jury in September found Alfredo Granados Canchola, 29, of Artesia, was found guilty by a jury of five felony counts and a sentencing enhancement for the
commission of a sexual offense against more than one victim.

The crimes:

Canchola drove up in his white 1988 Toyota Camry to a
13-year-old girl walking to school in Anaheim around 7:45 a.m. on March
19, 2009, and repeatedly asked if
she wanted a ride. He finally convinced
her to get in his car before driving away from her school, touching her
thigh and struggling to prevent her from leaving the car. She eventually
jumped from the moving Camry and informed Anaheim Police what had
happened. For that crime, Canchola was found guilty of one felony count
of
kidnapping to commit a sex offense and one felony count of lewd acts
upon a child under the age of 14.

Canchola was driving a burgundy Lexus
sedan that was also registered to him about 1 p.m. on May 19, 2009, when he waved at and asked
directions from a 16-year-old girl driving alongside on the 405 freeway.
Pretending not to hear her, he convinced her to follow him to a nearby
parking lot in Irvine, where he forced her into the Lexus, fondled her breasts and
forcibly penetrated her digitally. She was able to text a male friend
for help before slipping away, informing a trusted adult what had happened and having the
incident reported to police. For all that, Canchola was found guilty of
one felony count of
sexual penetration by foreign object by force and one felony count of
aggravated kidnap with the intent to commit a sexual offense.

A 10-year-old girl was helping her family clean out their garage in an unincorporated area of Anaheim by
carrying items to a dumpster behind their residential complex while
riding on her Razor scooter around 3 p.m. Aug. 15, 2009. That's when Canchola rolled up in his Lexus
and asked if the girl knew a specific person. When she replied in the
negative, Canchola drove to the end of the driveway, pulled over and
parked his car. He then walked over to the girl and tried to engage her
in conversation, even offering her cash to come over to his car. She
rushed back to her home and informed her father, while Canchola drove
off. Dad got a partial plate number and called 9-1-1. For that incident,
Canchola was found guilty of one felony count of
attempting to kidnap to commit a sexual offense.

The letter read to Judge Conley Friday came from the girl who was 13 when Canchola forced her into his car:

This case has caused our
family emotional pain. After the incident and that specific case, our
lives haven't been the same. As a mother, I'm always scared thinking
that something could happen to my daughter or even the other girls in
our community. As a victim, thinking of what could have happened if I
didn't follow my instinct of getting out of the car no matter what. As a
father and son, feeling upset and angry because we couldn't be there to
help and defend her at the time she needed us most.

The girl attacked in Irvine and her mother also gave victim impact statements.